Steps to consider to start and grow a company. Basics are provided to help entrepreneurs. Examples may relate to Biotech, Pharma and Medical Device businesses, but the ideas apply to most technology fields.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Meetings (UGH!)

If a
company has 2 employees or more, meetings are absolutely essential to running a
business.Getting everyone on the same
page and organizing tasks takes alone time and it takes team face time. The
number and quality of meetings requires thought and planning.Too many meetings and people cannot get their
real work done.Too few and you may not
have the organization and timings you needed to accomplish a particular project.

Duration
of meetings is something to consider.I
have been in meetings that lasted all day. But, everything could have been
accomplished in about an hour.I have
also been in meetings where the boss runs in barks out some instructions and
leaves; short meetings are liked for duration but may leave too much
unclear.After the a meeting of this
type, everyone spends lots of time trying to figure out what they are supposed
to do and how to get it done.

I kind of
like the meetings that have a short presentation to set the background and
outline what needs to be done.If the
boss does not know, then he leaves a slide for brainstorming discussions.The goal of this time is to lay out the
strategy and steps.If the meeting is
running too long, then consolidate the thoughts and have a second meeting to
review and discuss the process and timings.

The better
prepared the boss is, the better the meeting should flow.It helps to take time to have individual
discussions in advance in order to gain the background before calling the
meeting.The boss needs to be educated
sometimes, but not in a long meeting with everyone in it.Learning the info and planning prior to
getting everyone together works better.

Sometimes,
meetings for brainstorming can be done off site or around pizza.Get everyone relaxed and toss out ideas.Have someone keep notes and try to summarize
the thoughts for later.Brainstorming in
a relaxed environment can yield ideas that are more creative if the team is not
afraid of looking silly or stupid.

I have
been in meetings where the boss just berated everyone in the meeting one by
one.Maybe that worked for him, but all
it did was have everyone wanting to see the boss leave.People want to be treated with respect.Being intentionally aggressive or ugly to
them in public is not a great way to build a team.

I particularly
remember a boss that had a unique talent of having discussions that carried
multiple meanings.It took me 2 years to
learn I had to pin him down on every point to make sure I understood what he
really was saying.Being unclear or too politically
correct does not provide useful guidance to your team.Figure how to make specific statements that
are not ambiguous when you provide instructions to your team.

In short,
meetings are essential.Try to organize
good meetings that get to the point and yield outcomes quickly.People may learn to like you, work harder,
try more, accomplish more, and meet your timelines; if you are not being a real ASS!